The NATO Military Committee, which is the Alliance's senior military authority, will hold a videoconference meeting on Thursday 14 May to discuss the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Alliance’s activities, amongst other matters.
NATO Chiefs of Defence will begin by discussing the actions required to implement the decisions taken at the most recent Foreign and Defence Ministerial meetings on 2 and 17 April. The actions include strengthening the Alliance's resilience (see EUROPE 12468/13) and cooperation in tackling Covid-19 (see EUROPE 12461/26).
NATO's role in the response to the Covid-19 crisis will be a separate discussion item for the Chiefs of Defence, who will also look at ways to provide greater assistance to the Allies, partners and those countries that require assistance in dealing with the pandemic.
They will then discuss NATO's operational commitments, particularly the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Although there are plans to reduce the Alliance's presence in Afghanistan, NATO intends to increase its training activities in Iraq (see EUROPE 12425/21).
The Military Committee will also be briefed on progress with development of the Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA) and the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept (NWCC). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)